Plane crash DCA?

[Anonymous]

I would lose my mind if I had a family member on that plane and read this report about people knowing the pilot was struggling yet she was allowed to fly in congested commercial airspace. This was an accident that could have been prevented so many different times. Even without knowing anyone on board I am infuriated for them. Our government failed and killed its own people including many children. RIP to all those souls.

[Anonymous]

It’s pretty clear that this entire “investigation” has been structured in such a way to put all the blame on the female pilot.

Not on the two men flying the more maneuverable jet.

Not on the man sitting next to Lobach, either.



They’re trying to put the blame on her.




So predictable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear that this entire “investigation” has been structured in such a way to put all the blame on the female pilot.

Not on the two men flying the more maneuverable jet.

Not on the man sitting next to Lobach, either.



They’re trying to put the blame on her.




So predictable.

Passenger jet and maneuverable aren't two ideas that go together.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Did people read the NYT article yesterday? I understand there were many things that went wrong that night, including understaffing in the tower, but why the hell was a pilot with inferior flying skills in the area that night? I was struck by the description of her lack of talent as a pilot. I’m sorry if that is hurtful to her family.

Can someone paste the relevant part, or post a link to the article?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/us/politics/dc-plane-helicopter-crash.html

....That same week, Mr. Eaves, assigned to give her the annual flight exam, told his girlfriend that he feared Captain Lobach was unprepared for the flight, according to an N.T.S.B. interview document.

Completely unrelated to the point of this article but I noticed they reference his girlfriend...but his obituaries mentioned his widow and children. So, is this just an error and they interviewed his wife? Or like...what cause the alternative is this is how his wife finds out he had an affair.

Really, man/woman? This is what you are wondering ?

Yes, that is my only concern in all of this. (I'll note that was sarcasm for you.)

I immediately said "Completely not the point of this article," implying I understand the point of the article. I am simply confused how this man's gf was interviewed by NTSB when he was married. Did the NTSB identify her as his gf incorrectly? I would hope that they are being very detail oriented in the investigation, so that wouldn't be great.

Are you suggesting that the report is a fabrication?

This is clearly going over your head, so let me be very, very explicit for you:

Misidentifying someone as a "girlfriend" when they were a wife is a mistake that may not seem like much, but to me, it indicates that the NTSB is not paying much attention to details. They interviewed this woman themselves, according to the report, so it's not like they're relying on information from a third party who got it wrong. It is concerning that in the investigation of a passenger jet crash they would get something so blatantly wrong.

Lesson: don't trust the current ntsb they are overlooking details. What if he was in process of a divorce and had a girlfriend?

I mean, possibly, but getting a girlfriend before you're fully divorced is a risky move in divorce court that most attorneys would advise against, and his wife spoke a few times after the crash and referred to him as "my husband" so I believe this is more likely an error.

You could read the NTSB report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Did people read the NYT article yesterday? I understand there were many things that went wrong that night, including understaffing in the tower, but why the hell was a pilot with inferior flying skills in the area that night? I was struck by the description of her lack of talent as a pilot. I’m sorry if that is hurtful to her family.

Can someone paste the relevant part, or post a link to the article?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/us/politics/dc-plane-helicopter-crash.html

....That same week, Mr. Eaves, assigned to give her the annual flight exam, told his girlfriend that he feared Captain Lobach was unprepared for the flight, according to an N.T.S.B. interview document.

Completely unrelated to the point of this article but I noticed they reference his girlfriend...but his obituaries mentioned his widow and children. So, is this just an error and they interviewed his wife? Or like...what cause the alternative is this is how his wife finds out he had an affair.

Really, man/woman? This is what you are wondering ?

Yes, that is my only concern in all of this. (I'll note that was sarcasm for you.)

I immediately said "Completely not the point of this article," implying I understand the point of the article. I am simply confused how this man's gf was interviewed by NTSB when he was married. Did the NTSB identify her as his gf incorrectly? I would hope that they are being very detail oriented in the investigation, so that wouldn't be great.

Are you suggesting that the report is a fabrication?

This is clearly going over your head, so let me be very, very explicit for you:

Misidentifying someone as a "girlfriend" when they were a wife is a mistake that may not seem like much, but to me, it indicates that the NTSB is not paying much attention to details. They interviewed this woman themselves, according to the report, so it's not like they're relying on information from a third party who got it wrong. It is concerning that in the investigation of a passenger jet crash they would get something so blatantly wrong.

It is not a misidentification. There was a wife and a (separate) girlfriend. It is in the next-of-kin interview transcripts in the NTSB docket.

There is also a suggestion that the female pilot might have had undiagnosed ADHD. Again, it is in the next-of-kin interviews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear that this entire “investigation” has been structured in such a way to put all the blame on the female pilot.

Not on the two men flying the more maneuverable jet.

Not on the man sitting next to Lobach, either.



They’re trying to put the blame on her.




So predictable.

The jet cannot move out of the way easily. The helicopter can. What are you missing? There is zero to suggest that the airline guys did anything at all wrong. The blame seems to be on her to a major degree. Just the way it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear that this entire “investigation” has been structured in such a way to put all the blame on the female pilot.

Not on the two men flying the more maneuverable jet.

Not on the man sitting next to Lobach, either.



They’re trying to put the blame on her.




So predictable.

I’m sorry but in this particular crash the evidence really does imply that the fault lies with the military helicopter, not the American Airlines plane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear that this entire “investigation” has been structured in such a way to put all the blame on the female pilot.

Not on the two men flying the more maneuverable jet.

Not on the man sitting next to Lobach, either.



They’re trying to put the blame on her.




So predictable.

The jet cannot move out of the way easily. The helicopter can. What are you missing? There is zero to suggest that the airline guys did anything at all wrong. The blame seems to be on her to a major degree. Just the way it is.

The jet was also exactly where ATC told it to be and was following procedure. Neither is true of the Helo. But I agree the Helo instructor has equal if not more responsibility as the more experienced pilot.

[Anonymous]

I’ll never forget that Trump’s first instinct, barely 10 days into his term, was to blame DEI for this disaster. Unforgivable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll never forget that Trump’s first instinct, barely 10 days into his term, was to blame DEI for this disaster. Unforgivable.

Yes. Except it seems that is what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll never forget that Trump’s first instinct, barely 10 days into his term, was to blame DEI for this disaster. Unforgivable.

Yes. Except it seems that is what happened.

+1. PP's point makes no sense. Unfortunately, it's what happened. She should have flied more or stopped flying. Never should have been flying with such little and poor experience into such congested space. The blame is equally on the pilot who told his girfriend, but no higher-ups. But you see, that's what happens with DEI--he obviously didn't feel he could, or else he'd be showing sexism. The fact is, there isn't a decent woman in the world who would take advantage of "DEI" and not insist they be held to the same standard. It's unclear why Lobach didn't seem to mind.

[Anonymous]

After reading the NY Times article about the hearing, I don't know how anyone could think this was still a VIP transport in disguise. It is quite clear that it was a training/certification exercise that went very wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After reading the NY Times article about the hearing, I don't know how anyone could think this was still a VIP transport in disguise. It is quite clear that it was a training/certification exercise that went very wrong.

People have said it was an internet rumor tho who knows what was happening around that same time to-from Langley.

[Anonymous]

I just read an article that said it was the fault of the air traffic control man who was doing two jobs and did not confirm things with the helicopter pilot. Why isn't anyone talking about that? Is it because he is a white male? He admitted it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did people read the NYT article yesterday? I understand there were many things that went wrong that night, including understaffing in the tower, but why the hell was a pilot with inferior flying skills in the area that night? I was struck by the description of her lack of talent as a pilot. I’m sorry if that is hurtful to her family.

Can someone paste the relevant part, or post a link to the article?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/us/politics/dc-plane-helicopter-crash.html

....That same week, Mr. Eaves, assigned to give her the annual flight exam, told his girlfriend that he feared Captain Lobach was unprepared for the flight, according to an N.T.S.B. interview document.
Captain Lobach, recalled the girlfriend, was described by Mr. Eaves as “not where she should be,” according to the document. It was the girlfriend’s impression, investigators said in the document, that Mr. Eaves “thought the other pilot was not grasping things they should have understood by that point in her flying career.”
Nonetheless, Mr. Eaves was professional and even jovial during the Jan. 29 flight, according to a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder.....

....He appeared to try to soothe Captain Lobach’s embarrassment over a directional mistake by joking that he was “all game” to blow by a town at low altitude but that they would have to make a “blood pact” not to discuss it with anyone later.
She appeared to have recognized the tongue-in-cheek suggestion, replying, “Nope, right.”
But the exam did not go smoothly.
More than an hour before the crash, during a portion of the flight with choppy winds, Mr. Eaves took the flight controls from her, according to the transcript.
At another point, when they were evidently practicing landing and other maneuvers on a rural airfield, she was forced to “go around” one landing area on short notice — a tactic that is often used when an aircraft cannot land safely, aviators told The Times. When Mr. Eaves asked her about the mistake, she blamed the height of her chair, according to the transcript.
She also erroneously turned left when she should have gone right to avoid winds, and turned northward toward Great Falls, Va., when she should have been heading south to return to the Army base, prompting Mr. Eaves to ask her where they were going, according to the transcript.
At one point, the transcript says, she described herself as “dizzy,” but quickly added that it was “not too bad.”

Little missteps might be relatively forgivable on a deserted airfield or at thousands of feet in elevation, where there is less traffic. But once the Black Hawk entered the Washington area’s airspace — known as Class B, the busiest grade — there was very little margin for error when problems emerged.

So it's the supervisor's fault because at that point, he should have taken over the controls.